The European football championship in Germany continues today with the first matches in group F.
From 18:00, the best teams of Turkey and Georgia meet at the stadium in Dortmund.
Of the five past meetings with Georgia, whose top team is making its European Championship debut, Turkey have won three, an encouraging sign for Vincenzo Montella’s side. However, these teams haven’t met since 2012, and a lot has changed since then.
Led by former Bayern and France full-back Willy Sagnol, Georgia reached their first major international tournament, with the nation still reeling from their success against Greece in the play-off final.
Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella said that they want to make their fans proud and play with passion and courage.
“We have a nice mix of young, talented players and guys like Calhanoglu who are experienced role models, so we have a chance. Some big players are out with injuries, but we have to focus and believe in the people we have here with us. We didn’t get past the group stage in our last two tournaments, so we really need to start picking up points and winning from the start,” said Montella.
Georgia coach Willy Sagnol emphasizes that this is his team’s first match, but that it is also Turkey’s first match, which is why, he is sure, their rivals are under more pressure.
“If you talk about Turkey’s strengths, we could talk for a long time, because they have a lot of good players with great technical ability. It will be a big challenge for us after the play-off final, it was a little difficult for some players to get back into their daily routine. They were living the dream “This dream has to end at some point and we have to refocus,” Sagnol said.
At the stadium in Leipzig from 21:00, Portugal and the Czech Republic meet, also in Group F.
Portugal and the Czech Republic are old acquaintances, and this will be their fourth clash at the European Championships since 1996. The Czechs won the championship in 1996 with 1:0, while Portugal was more successful in the meetings in 2008 and 2012. Portugal arrived in Germany with victories in the last four meetings.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored against the Czech Republic at the European Championships in 2008 and 2012. If he takes the field in Leipzig, he will be the first player to appear in six EURO tournaments. However, the Czech Republic will not be solely focused on Ronaldo.
Ivan Hašek’s team plays attacking football, as evidenced by striker Patrik Schick, who finished as the top scorer with five goals (along with Ronaldo) at EURO 2020.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez believes that the playing style of the Czech national team is very clear.
“It’s about taking risks, high pressing, with players who want to score. They are playing to win and it will be a fantastic game,” he said.
“The Portuguese are players who play in the best clubs in the world, they are stars and they go into this match as favorites, but we want to win. We know about Cristiano Ronaldo, but I want us not to say after the game that we played against him, but to we beat Portugal as a team,” Czech coach Ivan Hašek said before the match.
The European Football Championship (EURO 2024) will last until July 14, BHRT writes.
